Stories from Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Mrs. Eunice Westbrook, 79, of Blytheville, passed away Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011, at Baptist East Hospital in Memphis.

Mr. Robert Earl Perkins, 57, of Blytheville, died Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011, in Blytheville.

Mrs. Maerene Nickerson, 73, of Blytheville, died Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011, at Baptist Hospital East in Memphis.

Mr. Earl Elvonder Galloway, 85, of Benton, Mo., formerly of Leachville, passed away Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011, at his home.

Mrs. Brenda Jean Flagg, 71, of Manila, died Saturday, Feb. 20, 2011, at St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro.

After almost five years of schooling in FEMA trailers following the April 2006 tornado which destroyed their school, Caruthersville High School students were able to enter their new high school last Friday.

Some people are called to build a congregation of members for a church; others are called to build a church building. And there are a few who can do both.

Harrold Lee Davis entered Blytheville High School when he was in the 11th grade, during the period of time when integration of the local school system was taking place.

The Armorel school board approved an adjusted budget for the 2010-2011 school year Monday night at its monthly school board meeting.

Current Blytheville High School dancers performed a routine with future BHS dancers Friday night at halftime of the Blytheville vs. Forrest City game.

Ian N. Cost submitted this photo of the snow-covered tank in front of the American Legion building on Second Street following the dusting of snow that fell on the area on Jan. 20.

AT&T is putting the finishing touches on its 3G service in the Blytheville area, preparing for an official launch of the service in the coming days.

Brenda Jean Flagg, 71, of Manila, died Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011, at St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro. Born at Manila she was the daughter of the late Pinky and Grace Jackson Bunch and had been a lifelong Manila resident. ...

Earl Elvonder Galloway, 85, of Benton, Mo., formerly of Leachville, died Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011, at his home. Born at Leachville he was the son of the late Rufus and Ida Buford Galloway and had lived in Benton for the past 20 years. Mr. Galloway was a retired farmer and outdoorsman that loved hunting and fishing and spending time with his children and grandchildren...

Waylon Floyett Gammill, 75, of Albuquerque, N.M., passed away Feb. 3, 2011, after a short illness. He was born July 17, 1935, in Myrtle, Miss. Mr. Gammill lived in Manila most of his teenage years until he graduated from Manila High School in 1954...

Cross County's Veasley brothers proved too much for Buffalo Island Central as the Thunderbirds eliminated the Mustangs 54-51 in the quarterfinals of the 2A-3 District Tournament Wednesday night at Caraway...

MEMPHIS -- A local roper was a big winner recently during the United States Team Roping Championships (USTRC) Muddy River Classic being held at the Agricenter ShowPlace Arena in Germantown, Tenn. Heath Sanders of Leachville roped five steers in a time of 33.25 with partner George Eldridge of Anna, Ill., to win $2,667 of the $7,030 purse besting 56 other teams in #15 competition. ...

Warriors outscored Buffalo Island Central 20-3 in the fourth quarter to break open a tight game and went on to defeat the Lady Mustangs 57-36 in the championship game of the 2A-3 District Tournament Friday night at Caraway...

Riverside advanced to the 2A Regional Tournament with a 55-47 victory over Marmaduke Wednesday night at Caraway. Logan Meurer pumped in a game high 20 points while Josh Anderson and Cole Winford scored 14 and 10 points respectively to lead the Rebels. Alteeno Sain scored six while Tyler Rolland pitched in five points...

Riverside's Lady Rebels saw its season come to a disappointing end at the hands of Walnut Ridge Tuesday night in the first round of the 2A-3 District Tournament at Caraway. The Lady Bobcats squeaked out a 46-44 decision, ending Riverside's hopes of advancing to the regional tournament...

The Manila Lady Lions used the combination of high energy and a feisty, scrappy playing style to make a run in the 3A-3 District Tournament at Piggott, reaching the semifinal round to secure a spot in the regional tournament beginning later this week at Bergman...

Saturday night's 3A-3 District Tournament championship game between the Manila Lions and Earle Bulldogs in Piggott was a hardwood battle. The contest needed extra minutes for a winner to emerge, requiring overtime. In the end, the Lions came up just short in the heartbreaker, falling to Earle, 61-54...

The Leachville City Council reviewed changes in Fire Department accounts, department purchases and reports and a council resignation at the regular meeting held Monday, Feb. 14...

Walter Stewart, case manager with the East Arkansas Area Agency on Aging, was welcomed to the Caraway Senior Citizen Center on Tuesday. He met with senior citizens to discuss Medicare Part D. He presented helpful information on Medicare Part D and helped participants determine if they were eligible for assistance on paying for the drug plan. He also answered other questions they had...

The Riverside Junior High Quiz Bowl Team won first place in the Regional competition held at Buffalo Island Central on Feb. 8. The team went undefeated in all of the 2A Regional matches and will go on to compete at the State level...

Dr. Tommy Wagner of Manila has announced his plans to run for the Manila School Board. Dr. Wagner grew up in Manila, graduating from Manila High School in 1994. Following college and medical school, he returned to his hometown and opened Wagner Medical Clinic...

Kenny and Tammy Ellington, members of the Heavenbound Quartet, are excited and looking forward to the grand opening of their new theater, Music and Memories. It is located in Lake City at 17 Cobean Boulevard, in front of Farmers Market...

Chapter N, PEO Sisterhood, recently met for a dessert meeting at the home of Sharyn Stevenson, with Cathy Mayes as co-hostess.

The beautiful home of Regina Reynolds was the setting for the Feb. 2 meeting of the Lady Bug Garden Club. Co-hostesses were Linda Hisky and Judy Canada.

Cleaning out my file of "mailed-in items for future consideration" one day last week, I came upon an item that caught my attention.

Recent reports from the Blytheville Police Department.

Mississippi County Sheriff Dale Cook will only be able to purchase 10 cars to replace the 40 aging vehicles with high mileage that are currently owned by the county.

Class 5A fifth-ranked Blytheville entered Tuesday night's game at Greene County Tech needing to win out to assure itself of the 5A-East's top seed going into next week's 5A State Tournament.

Mrs. Mary Lou Maupin, 76, of Blytheville passed away Monday, Feb. 21, 2011, at Great River Medical Center in Blytheville.